Did Tobin also kill Genette?

CONVICTED rapist and murderer Peter Tobin is to be interviewed about the disappearance of another young girl, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Detectives are to interview Tobin about the case of Genette Tate, who vanished while out on her paper round exactly 29 years ago today.

The case remains Britain's longest-running missing person's inquiry but police sources say that the odd-job man's profile has now made him a "viable suspect" for their inquiries.

Tobin, a convicted paedophile, was found guilty earlier this year of killing Polish student Angelika Kluk, whose body he buried underneath a Glasgow church.

Genette's disappearance on Saturday, August 19, 1978, and subsequent suspected murder, has been one of the most baffling British crime mysteries for decades.

She vanished almost within sight of her home in the Devon village of Aylesbeare and the first witnesses at the scene were there so quickly that the wheels of the 13-year-old's bike were still spinning as it lay on the ground. The newspapers Genette was supposed to have delivered were strewn all over the road.

Despite the speed with which the first witnesses came upon the scene, no one saw Genette being attacked or driven away and no trace of the Devon schoolgirl has ever been found.

Tobin was linked to the inquiry after detectives probing Angelika's murder examined his work history. In the early Seventies, he had moved to the south coast from his native Paisley, travelling from town to town working as a "freelance lagger", fitting insulation to private houses and businesses alike.

The police source explained: "By his very nature and his criminal tendencies, Tobin is someone who fits the right sort of profile in the Genette Tate case. He has a predilection for young girls and is a supreme opportunist. With Angelika Kluk, he saw his chance and took it and look what happened to her."

The source continued: "Genette was just yards from her home and had only just been chatting to pals minutes before she disappeared.

"Whoever did this literally pounced upon her and gave her no chance of escape. We know that Tobin was in the general area when Genette disappeared. It is only right and proper that he should be interviewed to see exactly what, if anything, he knows about her disappearance."

No trace of the clothing Genette was wearing when she disappeared has ever been found either.

Triple child killer Robert Black was arrested in connection with the Tate case last year but never charged.

In 2005 he was arrested while in prison by Devon and Cornwall detectives. But Black vigorously denied any involvement with Genette's disappearance and police did not have enough evidence to charge him.

Tobin was convicted in 1994 of raping one teenage girl and sexually assaulting another in his flat in Portsmouth, Hampshire, where he was living at the time.

After being released from jail, he returned to Scotland where, in 2006, he started working as a handyman at St Patrick's Church in Glasgow's Anderston district. It was here that he met and eventually killed 23-year-old Angelika.

Tobin is now serving a life term for Angelika's murder and is expected never to be freed from prison.

However, it is understood he may not be interviewed immediately as there are other outstanding legal matters which have to be dealt with first.

The source continued: "Tobin is going nowhere. There is no rush and so it may be a while before he is spoken to.

"You would like to think that if he knows anything, he will speak up but you would not put money on it, I'm afraid."

Last night, a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police declined to comment on the matter.

Prayers for victim as church reopens

THE church where Angelika Kluk was raped and murdered will reopen its doors this week - almost a year after it was closed.

St Patrick's, on the outskirts of Glasgow city centre, has been closed since the 23-year-old Polish student's body was found hidden underneath the floorboards.

On Wednesday evening, a special service entitled 'Prayer for the Dead' will be held at the Anderston church.

The following Sunday afternoon, the church will officially reopen with the Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, taking the service.

Angelika's body was found in a space under the church last September, prompting the building's closure. She had been killed by the church handyman, convicted paedophile Peter Tobin, who had befriended her days before.

The 61-year-old went on the run following the killing, but was arrested almost a week later in London. He was subsequently charged and convicted of her murder and is now serving a life sentence.

The priest at the time of Kluk's murder, Father Gerry Nugent, subsequently resigned his post after claiming to have had a sexual relationship with the victim and another female parishioner.

Nugent is being replaced by Canon Robert Hill, who was previously the Dean of the West End of Glasgow.

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